EvilFefe
2022
Is Suppermassive a one hit wonder? Was Until Dawn even that good or was I just naive? These are the questions I ask myself because of the Quarry.
Games or experiences hinge on Dynamic events and good story, two things this game severely lack. Normally when I finish a game like this I run to Reddit to read discussion and see how the choices effected other in their playthrough only to be disappointed to find out that we all had the exact same experience for the most part. It's like one of those "choose your own" DVD movie bonus features on a Final Destination DVD. You can choose something but the same shit happens regardless.
The characters here are what you'd expect. Dumb teens but in this game they're adults? I don't know... it's never been made explicitly clear to me.
The monsters in this game are just a retread of the Wendigo from Until Dawn. The greatest thing about Until Dawn was not knowing the true threat. Was the cabin haunted, was there a murderer among them, what's going on? The game here plays its cards early and you know the threat
This game also does something that I've found annoying in recent games like this. It tries to make you HATE characters and make decisions against them by trying to manipulate you by your player characters apprehension. Example: In Life is Strange True Colors, there's a character who's kind of an ass... so when something happens you're expected to pick the options against him because "he's a dick" but in the end they're telling the truth and you're just a meanie!!!! It's so obvious there... and it's obvious here. Just have a conversation and these issues will be resolved... instead I have to make 9 deliberate decisions to not be "mean" to these people because the game wants me to so they can pull a "gotcha"
While, being very pretty the game is also very... ugly. There's a particular scene in the game where two characters jump in a lake and the water looks good enough to be from 2001.
The ending is offensively bad, if they pulled it off maybe they'd have a better rapport with a lot of people. The game just kinda... ends. It's bad.
There was an industry leak by someone close to the industry that Supermassive was making a stadia game who later confirmed that this was in-fact that stadia game. I learned this after completion and frankly its kinda obvious. Actions you need to make are super dumbed down, there's no button prompts for these actions either just PUSH IN THIS DIRECTION HERES FIVE SECONDS. Game feels like it needed to bake in the oven a little more too. Reeks of shit.
Don't play it just go play something else.
Games or experiences hinge on Dynamic events and good story, two things this game severely lack. Normally when I finish a game like this I run to Reddit to read discussion and see how the choices effected other in their playthrough only to be disappointed to find out that we all had the exact same experience for the most part. It's like one of those "choose your own" DVD movie bonus features on a Final Destination DVD. You can choose something but the same shit happens regardless.
The characters here are what you'd expect. Dumb teens but in this game they're adults? I don't know... it's never been made explicitly clear to me.
The monsters in this game are just a retread of the Wendigo from Until Dawn. The greatest thing about Until Dawn was not knowing the true threat. Was the cabin haunted, was there a murderer among them, what's going on? The game here plays its cards early and you know the threat
This game also does something that I've found annoying in recent games like this. It tries to make you HATE characters and make decisions against them by trying to manipulate you by your player characters apprehension. Example: In Life is Strange True Colors, there's a character who's kind of an ass... so when something happens you're expected to pick the options against him because "he's a dick" but in the end they're telling the truth and you're just a meanie!!!! It's so obvious there... and it's obvious here. Just have a conversation and these issues will be resolved... instead I have to make 9 deliberate decisions to not be "mean" to these people because the game wants me to so they can pull a "gotcha"
While, being very pretty the game is also very... ugly. There's a particular scene in the game where two characters jump in a lake and the water looks good enough to be from 2001.
The ending is offensively bad, if they pulled it off maybe they'd have a better rapport with a lot of people. The game just kinda... ends. It's bad.
There was an industry leak by someone close to the industry that Supermassive was making a stadia game who later confirmed that this was in-fact that stadia game. I learned this after completion and frankly its kinda obvious. Actions you need to make are super dumbed down, there's no button prompts for these actions either just PUSH IN THIS DIRECTION HERES FIVE SECONDS. Game feels like it needed to bake in the oven a little more too. Reeks of shit.
Don't play it just go play something else.
2022
Despite being the best Disgaea game as far as Mechanics and QOL it is somehow the worst.
You can tell NIS bit off more than they can chew by bringing the game to 3D. A lot of characters are reused, the same boss fight at the end of every chapter, lack of legacy units, etc. While being the highest "quality" they couldn't bring everything we'd want over. Kinda like Pokémon did... but a little more excusable since Disgaea doesn't print money.
The story is... worse than previous titles. Not as funny. Characters are more one note than I recall but if you don't find their "joke" funny they start becoming annoying.
Endgame is also easier this time around. Spend a few bucks on a microtransaction and grind and now you're a god. This will be the only title I platinum from the series if that's an indication on that. A major positive for me... but many people might not share that tune who've been grinding the item world since 2003.
You can tell NIS bit off more than they can chew by bringing the game to 3D. A lot of characters are reused, the same boss fight at the end of every chapter, lack of legacy units, etc. While being the highest "quality" they couldn't bring everything we'd want over. Kinda like Pokémon did... but a little more excusable since Disgaea doesn't print money.
The story is... worse than previous titles. Not as funny. Characters are more one note than I recall but if you don't find their "joke" funny they start becoming annoying.
Endgame is also easier this time around. Spend a few bucks on a microtransaction and grind and now you're a god. This will be the only title I platinum from the series if that's an indication on that. A major positive for me... but many people might not share that tune who've been grinding the item world since 2003.
2022
Stray struggles as a game and is better serviced as an experience.
The gameplay here is rather dull. There's interactive stuff for cats to cause "havoc" but all of it is dumbed down to "hit this" "scratch this"
If you thought Assassins Creed Platforming was brainless, this surpasses it. You hold a button to jump and the Cat will do it all. The most "gameplay" you get through the game is when you're being chased by enemies in a set piece and have to run and outmaneuver them. Even then there's probably only 2-3 of these sections in the game. If not your "exploring" rather small corridors and taking orders. I don't know what kind of cat listens, but next time my cats being bad I'll just speak gibberish to him and he should get the picture.
This game had a really cool idea, but I think the target audience really isn't... me. My girlfriend who doesn't play games much loved the gimmick, I'm sure your grandma will too.
Cute cat thing. Bad game.
The gameplay here is rather dull. There's interactive stuff for cats to cause "havoc" but all of it is dumbed down to "hit this" "scratch this"
If you thought Assassins Creed Platforming was brainless, this surpasses it. You hold a button to jump and the Cat will do it all. The most "gameplay" you get through the game is when you're being chased by enemies in a set piece and have to run and outmaneuver them. Even then there's probably only 2-3 of these sections in the game. If not your "exploring" rather small corridors and taking orders. I don't know what kind of cat listens, but next time my cats being bad I'll just speak gibberish to him and he should get the picture.
This game had a really cool idea, but I think the target audience really isn't... me. My girlfriend who doesn't play games much loved the gimmick, I'm sure your grandma will too.
Cute cat thing. Bad game.
A.I. Nirvana is a great game, but it fails to capture the pure enlightening I had with the first title.
The Story is told between two characters this time, with each story taking place 6 years apart. You're investigating these murders taking place during two different times. Despite this... Uchikoshi and Co. tell this story in a rather linear fashion. It doesn't have many Endings where you are faced with a major plot revelation and are forced back into the flowchart. By doing this you'll go 10 hours without much "action" in the plot waiting for all the dominos to fall at once. In a game like Virtues Last Reward or even Zero Time Dilemma, there's so many permutations and timeline foolery that every few hours there's some major crazy shit happening which helps to not only service the plot but also keep the player engaged in the story.
Luckily everything else packaged is far better than previous titles. The Somnium and new "Investigations" are a nice touch on some pretty weak gameplay in the last title. Character Models seem nicer, and the cast is overall more well rounded.
It does disappoint that Uchikoshi has an issue writing characters in sequel titles consistent with Character development in a previous title. If you played the original, you'd understand why Date acting exactly like he did throughout that game would be rather strange. It's the same feeling I got with Sigma acting like a hot headed 25 year old in Zero Time Dilemma.
This is another Uchikoshi game. There's some intentional Cringe, pervert jokes, Wikipedia articles read back to you, and crazy science fiction shit happening left and right. It's another one of those and if you like his title, you'll like this too... as long as you're not trying to be too critical of it's issues. I had a great time. Played all 30 hours or so in the course of a weekend. If I can be compelled enough to do that, than I'm more than satisfied even if I have minor issues with the story.
The Story is told between two characters this time, with each story taking place 6 years apart. You're investigating these murders taking place during two different times. Despite this... Uchikoshi and Co. tell this story in a rather linear fashion. It doesn't have many Endings where you are faced with a major plot revelation and are forced back into the flowchart. By doing this you'll go 10 hours without much "action" in the plot waiting for all the dominos to fall at once. In a game like Virtues Last Reward or even Zero Time Dilemma, there's so many permutations and timeline foolery that every few hours there's some major crazy shit happening which helps to not only service the plot but also keep the player engaged in the story.
Luckily everything else packaged is far better than previous titles. The Somnium and new "Investigations" are a nice touch on some pretty weak gameplay in the last title. Character Models seem nicer, and the cast is overall more well rounded.
It does disappoint that Uchikoshi has an issue writing characters in sequel titles consistent with Character development in a previous title. If you played the original, you'd understand why Date acting exactly like he did throughout that game would be rather strange. It's the same feeling I got with Sigma acting like a hot headed 25 year old in Zero Time Dilemma.
This is another Uchikoshi game. There's some intentional Cringe, pervert jokes, Wikipedia articles read back to you, and crazy science fiction shit happening left and right. It's another one of those and if you like his title, you'll like this too... as long as you're not trying to be too critical of it's issues. I had a great time. Played all 30 hours or so in the course of a weekend. If I can be compelled enough to do that, than I'm more than satisfied even if I have minor issues with the story.
2022
This review contains spoilers
The original Syphon Filter was my least favorite of the trilogy back on PS1. As a child I'd struggle in certain sections of this game. Revisiting it in 2022 was a rather enlightening experience... It made me realize that I've never actually beaten it. I think I got a little past the Helicopter battle and that's all. I funny enough, used the think the other games were a prequel since Lian "dies" during that fight only to never have the later plot revelations resolved.
As for the game, it holds up surprisingly well. The plot of these games used to be a major love of mine as a child but in 2022 they're beyond cheesy and poorly acted. The level design in this game is a major negative, however I even thought this back in 1999. A lot of levels give you objectives and just expect you to do things like "Find all the scientists" or "Plant all the explosives" if you for whatever reason miss one of these things while following the path the developers curated, the game will gladly remind you that you better backtrack through the level. Gunplay is serviceable with first person aiming being a giant time stamp on the era this game was released in.
I look forward to Sony's release of 2/3 on the PS Plus Premium tier... but with their lack of focus on classics it may be a long time unfortunately.
As for the game, it holds up surprisingly well. The plot of these games used to be a major love of mine as a child but in 2022 they're beyond cheesy and poorly acted. The level design in this game is a major negative, however I even thought this back in 1999. A lot of levels give you objectives and just expect you to do things like "Find all the scientists" or "Plant all the explosives" if you for whatever reason miss one of these things while following the path the developers curated, the game will gladly remind you that you better backtrack through the level. Gunplay is serviceable with first person aiming being a giant time stamp on the era this game was released in.
I look forward to Sony's release of 2/3 on the PS Plus Premium tier... but with their lack of focus on classics it may be a long time unfortunately.